I spent so many years blaming and bashing my body. Maybe you can relate to thinking a slew of negative thoughts and regularly hurling insults at your appearance. But while we’re criticizing our bodies, we forget all the amazing things they do for us. Don’t get me wrong: Coming up with 50 things was not an easy task. And it took me a while. But it felt ridiculously good to realize just how much I can do and how much I have to be thankful for.

I loathe the word “willpower.” Yes, it’s that bad. Because the word “willpower” is used as a Scarlet Letter to shame people and bully them into feeling bad about themselves and buying some new diet product (or magazine or fitness DVD or whatever). Willpower has very little to do with the choices we make. It’s a long post, but I definitely felt better after writing it. 🙂 Maybe it’ll give you a new perspective on willpower, too.

I spent years thinking that thinness was magical — a gift that would keep on giving. Giving me happiness and a new, adventurous, anxiety-free personality. I’d suddenly — and magically — have everything I ever wanted. But over time, I realized that thinness isn’t what I was hungry for. I was hunger for something deeper. I think the desire for thinness often masks those deeper, more meaningful desires and leads us astray.

It sounds cliche to say that inner beauty rocks and is what’s important. But it’s the truth. And it’s a truth that needs repeating over and over. After I read a powerful passage, I knew that I had to share it with you guys and remind all of us the importance of inner beauty. Often, we can easily see it in others, but not so much in ourselves.

I actually still remember the details of this day — the day my positive body image went south. I don’t mean to be so dramatic, but it seemed like everything I’d written, all the progress I’d made seemed to poof! disappear. A positive body image is anything but linear. There will be ups and downs. Hopefully, we use both as learning opportunities that teach us about what works and what doesn’t. And we keep on working.

What do you think about the above posts? What kinds of posts would you like to see on Weightless?